WSM - Williams-Sonoma Inc. announces record fiscal year 2022 revenues & earnings

FY22 comparable brand revenue growth of 6.5%
FY22 GAAP operating margin of 17.3%; non-GAAP operating margin of 17.5%
FY22 GAAP diluted EPS of $16.32; non-GAAP diluted EPS of $16.54

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE: WSM) today announced operating results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended January 29, 2023 (Fiscal 2022).

“At Williams-Sonoma, Inc., we are proud that, despite the declining macro environment, we delivered another record year of revenue, with a comp of 6.5% on the topline, and record earnings of $16.54 per share. With our relentless focus on customer service and profitable growth, we continue to outperform our peers, gain market share, and distinguish ourselves as the world's largest digital-first, design-led, sustainable home retailer,” said Laura Alber, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Alber concluded, “As we look to the long-term, we are confident in our continued ability to take market share, and to do so, profitably. With our culture of innovation and talent, our values, and the strength of our team, we're moving ahead with our vision of furnishing our customers everywhere. As we do, we are confident that we will continue to deliver for all our customers, employees and shareholders.”

FOURTH QUARTER 2022 HIGHLIGHTS

• Comparable brand revenue declined 0.6% with a 2-year comp of over 10% and a 3-year comp of 36%.
• Delivered a gross margin of 41.2%, deleveraging 380bps, primarily driven by higher inbound and outbound shipping and freight costs with occupancy deleverage of 60bps. Occupancy costs increased 5.4% to $204 million.
• Leveraged SG&A 200bps on a GAAP basis and 270bps on a non-GAAP basis to 21.3%, reflecting employment and advertising leverage, and insurance proceeds.
• Delivered a GAAP operating margin of 19.2% and non-GAAP operating margin of 19.9%.
• Increased non-GAAP EPS 1.5% with GAAP diluted EPS of $5.28 and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $5.50.

FISCAL YEAR 2022 HIGHLIGHTS

• Grew comparable brand revenue 6.5% with a 2-year comp of over 28% and a 3-year comp of over 45%.
• Delivered gross margin of 42.4%, deleveraging 160bps, primarily driven by higher shipping and freight costs, with merchandise margins flat to last year. Occupancy costs increased 7.9% to $785.4 million.
• Leveraged SG&A 130bps on a GAAP basis and 140bps on a non-GAAP basis to 24.9%, reflecting employment and advertising leverage.
• Delivered GAAP operating margin of 17.3%; non-GAAP operating margin of 17.5%, only down 20bps to last year's record high rate.
• Increased EPS 11% with GAAP diluted EPS of $16.32 and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $16.54.
• Delivered ROIC of 49.4% driven by record earnings.
• Maintained strong liquidity position of $367 million in cash and over $1.0 billion in operating cash flow enabling the company to deliver strong returns to shareholders of $1.1 billion through $217 million in dividends and $880 million in share repurchases.

DIVIDENDS AND SHARE REPURCHASE AUTHORIZATIONS

• Increased our quarterly dividend 15%, or $0.12, to $0.90 per share.
• Expanded our stock buy-back capacity to $1 billion.

OUTLOOK

• In fiscal 2023, we expect annual net revenue growth in the range of -3% to +3% with an operating margin between 14% to 15%.
• In the long-term, we expect mid-to-high single-digit annual net revenue growth with operating margin above 15%.

CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST INFORMATION

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will host a live conference call today, March 16, 2023, at 7:00 A.M. (PT). The call will be open to the general public via live webcast and can be accessed at http://ir.williams-sonomainc.com/events . A replay of the webcast will be available at http://ir.williams-sonomainc.com/events .

SEC REGULATION G — NON-GAAP INFORMATION

This press release includes non-GAAP financial measures. Exhibit 1 provides reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“GAAP”). We have not provided a reconciliation of non-GAAP guidance measures to the corresponding GAAP measures on a forward-looking basis due to the potential variability and limited visibility of excluded items; these excluded items may include impairment charges for certain hardware and software costs and goodwill of Aperture, as well as expenses related to the impact of the acquisition of Outward, Inc. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures, when reviewed in conjunction with GAAP financial measures, can provide meaningful supplemental information for investors regarding the performance of our business and facilitate a meaningful evaluation of current period performance on a comparable basis with prior periods. Our management uses these non-GAAP financial measures in order to have comparable financial results to analyze changes in our underlying business from quarter to quarter. In addition, certain other items may be excluded from non-GAAP financial measures when the company believes this provides greater clarity to management and investors. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered as a supplement to, and not as a substitute for or superior to the GAAP financial measures presented in this press release and our financial statements and other publicly filed reports. Non-GAAP measures as presented herein may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they do not fully materialize or are proven incorrect, could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements in the quotes of our President and Chief Executive Officer, our fiscal year 2023 outlook and long-term financial targets, and statements regarding our growth strategies and macro trends.

The risks and uncertainties that could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include: continuing changes in general economic conditions, and the impact on consumer confidence and consumer spending; the continuing impact of inflation and measures to control inflation, including raising interest rates, on consumer spending; the continuing impact of the coronavirus, war in Ukraine, and shortages of various raw materials on our global supply chain, retail store operations and customer demand; labor and material shortages; the outcome of our growth initiatives; new interpretations of or changes to current accounting rules; our ability to anticipate consumer preferences and buying trends; dependence on timely introduction and customer acceptance of our merchandise; changes in consumer spending based on weather, political, competitive and other conditions beyond our control; delays in store openings; competition from companies with concepts or products similar to ours; timely and effective sourcing of merchandise from our foreign and domestic vendors and delivery of merchandise through our supply chain to our stores and customers; effective inventory management; our ability to manage customer returns; uncertainties in e-marketing, infrastructure and regulation; multi-channel and multi-brand complexities; our ability to introduce new brands and brand extensions; challenges associated with our increasing global presence; dependence on external funding sources for operating capital; disruptions in the financial markets; our ability to control employment, occupancy, supply chain, product, transportation and other operating costs; our ability to improve our systems and processes; changes to our information technology infrastructure; general political, economic and market conditions and events, including war, conflict or acts of terrorism; the impact of current and potential future tariffs and our ability to mitigate impacts; the potential for increased corporate income taxes; and other risks and uncertainties described more fully in our public announcements, reports to stockholders and other documents filed with or furnished to the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 30, 2022 and all subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. We have not filed our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 29, 2023. As a result, all financial results described here should be considered preliminary, and are subject to change to reflect any necessary adjustments or changes in accounting estimates that are identified prior to the time we file the Form 10-K. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof, and we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

ABOUT WILLIAMS-SONOMA, INC.

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is the world’s largest digital-first, design-led and sustainable home retailer. The company’s products, representing distinct merchandise strategies — Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn Teen, West Elm, Williams Sonoma Home, Rejuvenation, and Mark and Graham — are marketed through e-commerce websites, direct-mail catalogs and retail stores. These brands are also part of The Key Rewards, our loyalty and credit card program that offers members exclusive benefits across the Williams-Sonoma family of brands. We operate in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, offer international shipping to customers worldwide, and have unaffiliated franchisees that operate stores in the Middle East, the Philippines, Mexico, South Korea and India, as well as e-commerce websites in certain locations. We are also proud to be a leader in our industry with our Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) efforts. Our company is Good By Design — we’ve deeply ingrained sustainability into our business. From our factories to your home, we are united in a shared purpose to care for our people and our planet.

For more information on our ESG efforts, please visit: https://sustainability.williams-sonomainc.com/

WSM-IR

SEC Regulation G – Non-GAAP Information

These tables include non-GAAP selling, general and administrative expense, operating income, operating margin, income taxes, effective tax rate and diluted EPS. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information for investors regarding the performance of our business and facilitate a meaningful evaluation of our quarterly actual results on a comparable basis with prior periods. Our management uses these non-GAAP financial measures in order to have comparable financial results to analyze changes in our underlying business from quarter to quarter. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered as a supplement to, and not as a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP.

Return on Invested Capital (“ROIC”)

We believe ROIC is a useful financial measure for investors in evaluating the efficient and effective use of capital, and is an important component of long-term shareholder return.

We define ROIC as non-GAAP net operating profit after tax ("NOPAT"), divided by our average invested capital. NOPAT is defined as non-GAAP operating income, plus rent expense, less estimated taxes at the company’s effective tax rate. Average invested capital is defined as the two-year average of total assets less current liabilities, plus capitalized leases, less cash in excess of $200 million.

ROIC is not a measure of financial performance under GAAP, and should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for other financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. Our method of determining ROIC may differ from other companies’ methods and therefore may not be comparable.

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Jeff Howie EVP, Chief Financial Officer – (415) 402 4324
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Jeremy Brooks SVP, Chief Accounting Officer & Head of Investor Relations – (415) 733 2371